Sweet seventh for Western Province
[Monday, December 11, 2017 09:49:41]Western Province celebrated an extraordinary achievement when the team wrapped up their seventh successive triumph in the South African Super Senior Inter-Provincial Championship at Pezula Golf Club in Knysna from 4-8 December.
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Western Province won the South African Super Senior Inter-Provincial for a seventh consecutive year at Pezula Golf Club on 8 December 2017; credit Pieter Els.
Back, left to right: Trevor Steensma (manager), Mark Hair, Henry Trevenna, Herman September and Anton Bezuidenhout.
The defending champions made a bold statement of intent with a resounding 7.5 – 1.5 victory over North West in the first round. They kept on track with a convincing 6 – 3 result against Southern Cape in round and the 6.5 – 2.5 outcome against KwaZulu-Natal in round three strengthened their resolve.
All that stood between Western Province and history was the double bill against Central Gauteng and Ekurhuleni on the last day.
“We were pretty confident going into the final round, but we knew it would be a humdinger,” said Western Province manager Trevor Steensma. “Every guy on the team knew the stakes and they were ready to leave it all out there.”
Western Province made a great start against Ekurhuleni to bank all three points in the Foursomes. Anton Bezuidenhout, Mark Hair and Henry Trevenna won their games and Herman September halved against David Jessup from Ekurhuleni to seal a 6.5 – 2.5 result for Western Province.
“We lost one game to Central Gauteng in the Foursomes and we expected it to go right down to the wire,” said Steensma.
Central Gauteng beat Southern Cape 6 – 3 in the first round and defeated North West 7 – 2 in round three, but they suffered a hiccup against KwaZulu-Natal in round two when Stephen Meyer fell ill. He soldiered on in the foursomes, but had to be hospitalised and his singles game was conceded. The end result was a 4.5 draw, which meant Central Gauteng had to beat both Ekurhuleni and Western Province to win the championship.
Having beat Ekurhuleni 5 – 4, the chase was on to hunt down Western Province.
John Winter took first blood for Western Province when he beat Colin Weinstein 4 & 3 to stretch their lead to 3 – 1. The status quo remained when Jan Vorster and Bezuidenhout halved against Meyer and Ian Smith respectively.
In the game between Richard Bruyns and Hair, Bruyns eagled 16 while Hair had eagles at nine and 13. However, Bruyns beat Hair 3 & 1 to close the gap and when Jock Wellington defeated Trevenna 3 & 2, the teams were tied at 4-all.
“Herman was dormie three in the final game, but he opened the door for Dave Jessup with a three-putt at 15,” said Steensma. “Then Dave made sublime birdie from nowhere at 16 and he birdied 17 to square the game.
“Herman is an old hand, though, and a gritty competitor. He doesn’t fluster easily and the pressure was on Dave, who had to win the final hole. Dave had a real slider from about 25 foot for birdie and Herman was about 10 feet from the hole. When Dave missed, Herman knew two putts for a halve would win the championship for us and he delivered.
“I am incredibly proud of this team and with their never-say-die attitude. When we came down to Knysna two weeks before the tournament, I already had a sense that this team could to it. Their team spirit was incredible. They had a huge goal, but they were 100 % committed. They are a team of stars who really played for each other.”
Steensma said he was also impressed by the spirit in which the championship was contested.
“There was an incredible spirit and camaraderie between all the teams that was just fantastic,” he said. “You never heard complaints. Just praise for great shots and putts and good-hearted banter. I also want to congratulate Pezula. This has to be one of the most magnificent courses in South Africa and it was the perfect backdrop to a truly fantastic championship.”
Twelve months after they were relegated, Gauteng North went undefeated in the battle for promotion against Boland, Border, Eastern Province, Free State and Northern Cape to lift the B-Division title and guarantee their return to the A-Division.
SUPER SENIORS A-DIVISION LOG
(Position, Union, Played, Win, Draw, Loss, Points, Games)
1 Western Province (5, 4, 1, 0, 9, 31)
2 Central Gauteng (5, 3, 2, 0, 8, 27)
3 KwaZulu-Natal (5, 2, 1, 2, 5, 24)
4 Southern Cape (5, 2, 0, 3, 4, 22.5)
5 Ekurhuleni (5, 1, 0, 4, 2, 17)
6 North West (5, 1, 0, 4, 2, 13.5)